Author & Book Views On a Healthy Life!

Tuesday

30Jun

Vegan Bay Crab Cakes

Jun 30, 2009

Cherie Soria

Cherie Soria decided to enter her fabulous Vegan Bay "Crab" Cakes with Creamy Dill Sauce recipe in the 9th Annual Crab Cake Cook Off in Fort Bragg, CA. The contest, featuring well-known local and regional chefs, is a popular event during Mendocino County's Annual Crab and Wine Days every January. Cherie’s recipe was the first time ever that a raw vegan entry had been submitted, and the contest organizers were very excited to have Living Light Culinary Arts Institute represented. Many people who would never have tried a vegan version of crab cakes tasted this delicious version, and were both amazed and delighted!

Vegan Bay Crab Cakes with Creamy Dill Tartar Sauce
Yield: 9 1/4-cup cakes (serves 6)

2 1/2 cups (10.8 oz) zucchini, peeled and very finely julienned using the Cuisinart julienne small blade, a spiral slicer, or mandoline with fine julienne attachment 1 cup (5.6 oz) almonds, peeled, finely ground
3/8 cup onion (1/2 small, or 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons), finely minced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 cup celery, finely minced
2 tablespoons powdered nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons kelp powder

Garlic Mayonnaise

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, ground to a butter
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon crystal salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic, pureed (1 large clove)

1. Cut the finely julienned zucchini into pieces about 1/2-inch in length. Place them on a tea towel and pat dry.

2. Put the zucchini in a large bowl and toss with the ground almonds.

3. Combine onion, bell pepper, and celery together in a small bowl and toss. Add remaining vegetables and seasonings and toss again lightly to mix. Handle the mixture gently, so it does not become wet.

4. Put the ingredients for the mayonnaise in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Carefully add it to the bowl and gently toss to blend the mayonnaise into the mixture. Handle the mixture gently, so it does not become packed together.

5. Using a 1/4-cup measure, create small cakes, about 3/4-inch deep.

6. Place the cakes on a mesh dehydrator sheet, with the smooth side facing up, and place the tray in a dehydrator at 135 degrees for 2 hours, then reduce temperature to 105 degrees and continue dehydrating for another 2 hours. (This temperature will not be too hot to destroy the nutrients and enzymes, since it is very high in moisture, which will cool the patties.)

7. Serve the crab-free cakes warm with a generous dollop of Creamy Dill Tartar Sauce.

Creamy Dill Tartar Sauce
Yield: 1 cup (serves 12)

1/4 cup cashews, soaked in water 2 hours and drained
1/4 cup pine nuts, soaked in water 2 hours and drained
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons water, as needed
1/4 cup capers
1/4 cup celery, minced
3 tablespoons dill weed, minced
2 1/2 tablespoons horseradish
1 1/2 tablespoons red onion, minced

1. Place cashews, pine nuts, lemon juice, agave, and salt in a blender and add just enough water to form a thick, smooth cream. Mixture should be smooth and creamy with a satiny appearance.
2. Add remaining ingredients to the blender and pulse briefly, just to mix. Do not over process or the mixture will become green - it should be chunky and flecked with dill.

Store Tartar Sauce in a sealed glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Cherie Soria is the founder and director of Living Light Culinary Arts Institute, and has been teaching the fine art of gourmet raw living foods to individuals, chefs, and instructors for well over 15 years, and vegetarian culinary arts for more than 35 years. Cherie is also the author of several books, including the classic Angel Foods: Healthy Recipes for Heavenly Bodies, and Raw Food Revolution Diet: Feast, Lose Weight, Gain Energy, Feel Younger! (The Book Pub Co/ Jun 2008) Cherie has personally trained many of the world's top raw food chefs and instructors and is often referred to as the mother of gourmet raw vegan cuisine. Cherie and her husband, Dan Ladermann, own and operate three other green businesses, including Living Light Cafe, Living Light Marketplace, and the historic eco-friendly Living Light Inn, all located on the beautiful Mendocino coast of northern California. They also host the Vibrant Living Expo, a raw food and healthy lifestyle conference at the Living Light Center every fourth weekend in August. Cherie and Dan have received numerous awards and accolades for Living Light International, which is recognized as one of the leading raw food businesses in the world. Reach Cherie Soria online at www.rawfoodchef.com

Raw Food Revolution Diet--Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe

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Tuesday

23Jun

The Truth About High Fructose Corn Syrup

Jun 23, 2009

Joanna Dolgoff, MD--

It seems that everybody is talking about the evils of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). But what is fact and what is simply hearsay? Here we will give all the facts about HFCS.

What, exactly, is HFCS?

High-fructose corn syrup is a common sweetener and preservative. HFCS is made by changing the sugar (glucose) in cornstarch to fructose – another form of sugar. The end product is a combination of fructose and glucose. Because it extends the shelf life of processed foods and is cheaper than sugar, high-fructose corn syrup has become a popular ingredient in many sodas, fruit-flavored drinks and other processed foods.

Is HFCS an artificial sweetener or made from chemicals?

No. A little less than one year ago, on July 08, 2008, the FDA clarified that HFCS can be labeled as a natural product. To be classified as natural, a food product must be made from an all-natural product and contain no artificial or synthetic ingredients or color additives.

How does HFCS compare to table sugar?

HFCS and sugar are virtually interchangeable! They have the same sweetness and composition. Contrary to its name, HFCS does not contain a lot of fructose. The ratio of fructose and glucose in HFCS and table sugar is practically the same. The human body cannot tell the difference between HFCS and sugar. High fructose corn syrup does not provide a sensation of increased or decreased fullness nor is it metabolized differently in the body.

Is HFCS responsible for the obesity epidemic?

Everybody wants to find the root of our country’s obesity epidemic. Many people have blamed HFCS. According the Mayo Clinic, HFCS is NOT to blame!

Statement from the Mayo Clinic:

So far, research has yielded conflicting results about the effects of high-fructose corn syrup. For example, various early studies showed an association between increased consumption of sweetened beverages (many of which contained high-fructose corn syrup) and obesity. But recent research – some of which is supported by the beverage industry – suggests that high-fructose corn syrup isn’t intrinsically less healthy than other sweeteners, nor is it the root cause of obesity.

HFCS itself does not increase the risk of obesity. Obesity is caused by taking in more calories than you burn. Many foods containing HFCS have lots of calories. Therefore, if you eat a lot of these foods, you will gain weight. Sugar is no different. If you eat too much sugar, you will gain weight. HFCS is no more likely to cause weight gain than regular sugar.

Does HFCS have more calories than regular sugar?

No! Both HFCS and sugar have four calories per gram. HFCS should not alarm you more than other sugars.

How else does HFCS affect the foods we eat?

High fructose corn syrup doesn’t simply sweeten food, it enhances and balances its flavors. For example, HFCS in yogurt enhances the fruit and spice flavors and regulates the yogurt’s tartness. HFCS acts similarly in foods such as tomato sauces and other condiments. In beverages, HFCS provides stability and helps keep flavors constant throughout the product’s shelf life.

If you are concerned about the amount of HFCS in your family’s diet, consider these tips:

1) Limit the processed foods you keep in the house.

2) Avoid foods that contain a large amount of added sugar, in any form.

3) Choose real fruit over fruit juice or fruit-flavored drinks. Even 100 percent fruit juices contain a large amount of sugar.

4) Avoid soda and other sweetened beverages!

The bottom line: There is no nutritional difference between HFCS and sugar. They contain the same number of calories and are made up of the same ratio of glucose and fructose. All forms of sugar will cause weight gain if eaten in abundance. Limit all forms of sugar to ensure a healthy diet!

Joanna Dolgoff, M.D. is a pediatrician whose practice solely deals with child and adolescent weight management. A graduate of Princeton University, she completed her education at NYU School of Medicine and finished her Pediatric Residency training at Columbia Presbyterian's Children's Hospital of New York. She has previously worked as a private practice pediatrician, helping children reach their weight loss goals. A Board Certified Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Dolgoff is also the proud mother of two children. Click here to learn more about Dr. Dolgoff's Weigh Child and Adolescent Weight Management Program.

Top 10 Food Myths

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Thursday

18Jun

Book Review: Kitchen Literacy by Ann Vileisis

Jun 18, 2009

Reviewed By Meredith Nudo

Drawing from subjects beyond the dinner table, Ann Vileisis’s Kitchen Literacy: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes from and Why We Need to Get It Back is an exhaustive study into the trends that shaped American diets. Her research is impressively thorough and compellingly supports the book’s main thesis – that Americans have gradually “lost awareness of how eating fits our human selves into the broader natural world” (246) and how learning to understand and comprehend aspects of food production and safety will contribute to figuring out how to “find a way to live better on Earth and, finally, to eat well” (246).

She opens the book with a chapter following the day-to-day culinary exploits of an eighteenth century housewife named Martha Ballard. This woman’s journals and writings reveal an intimate connection with the plants and animals who fed her family and friends. She knew the exact age, weight, and health status of the lambs she’d serve, and planted, hand-picked, and cleaned the accompanying vegetables – sometimes so fresh they still crawled with insects and spiders from the garden when brought inside.

Vileisis follows a logical, chronological structure for the rest of the book, pulling in information from both primary and secondary sources originating from a broad spectrum of topics. Not only does she explore how obvious advances and changes in farming, science, industry, and advertising contributed to the eventual disconnect between the populace and their food sources, but she also takes factors such as politics, big business,and social movements like feminism into consideration as well.

Vileisis is a consummate researcher, incorporating information from nothing but reliable and reputable sources. As a result, her main point that Americans need to educate themselves on the source and status of their foods is made viable and provocative. She argues that such knowledge will lead to healthier eating habits as more and more people grow to understand the possible dangers and health hazards of DDT, artificial hormones, and misleading advertising. And with scientific evidence to back up her claims, Vileisis lends credibility to her arguments. Her prose comes off as dry and pedantic on occasion, but she writes in a manner that those outside any of the fields researched can still follow.

Kitchen Literacy : How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes from and Why We Need to Get It Back (Island Press, Sep 2007) by Ann Vileisis

Further Reading

Kitchen Literacy: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes from and Why We Need to Get It Back can hardly be considered a piece of whistle-blowing journalism and research that will blow the lid off the food industry. However, the spirit of works such as Upton Sinclair’s seminal The Jungle and Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation is present in her vision for a more honest and healthy relationship between food suppliers and consumers. Those interested in the history of food without any sort of sociopolitical statements behind it would enjoy Mark Kurlansky’s delightful books Salt: A World History and Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World.

An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage

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Wednesday

17Jun

Henry Waxman Spearheads Bipartisan Bill to Prevent Contaminated Food

Jun 17, 2009

Food Safety Reform Bill Advances in House
New Muscle and Resources Will Help FDA Prevent Contaminated Food, Says CSPI

WASHINGTON—Historic legislation to reform food safety at the Food and Drug Administration moved a step closer to becoming a reality today as the Food Safety Enhancement Act was voted out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The bipartisan bill, spearheaded by Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Chairman Emeritus John Dingell (D-MI), has the support of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest and a broad coalition of consumer and public health groups.

The bill includes many measures that food safety experts have urged for years, including a requirement for food companies to identify the risks associated with their products and to institute preventive control measures. It also would require the FDA to conduct more frequent inspections of food processing facilities, and gives the agency the authority to order companies to recall contaminated food. Small new registration fees imposed on food processing facilities would help pay for the more frequent inspections.

“Americans are sick and tired of outbreaks of foodborne illnesses and recalls of tainted foods,” said CSPI food safety director Caroline Smith DeWaal. “This long-overdue legislation refocuses FDA on preventing problems, rather than reacting to each new food crisis. Consumers have lost confidence in the safety of our food, and Congress can help restore it by passing this important bill without delay.”

The bill comes in the wake of several years’ worth of high-profile cases of contaminated FDA-regulated foods, including spinach, tomatoes, peppers, peanuts, pistachios, and even pet food. The Food Safety Enhancement Act is the culmination of at least 24 hearings in the House and the Senate in recent years, and decades of lobbying by food safety advocates.

“In addition to Chairman Waxman and Representative Dingell, Representatives Frank Pallone, Diana DeGette, and Bart Stupak all played critical and constructive roles in moving this legislation forward,” said DeWaal. “They deserve thanks from all of us who enjoy eating safe, wholesome food.”

The Center for Science in the Public Interest is a nonprofit health advocacy group based in Washington, DC, that focuses on nutrition, food safety, and pro-health alcohol policies. CSPI is supported by the 900,000 U.S. and Canadian subscribers to its Nutrition Action Healthletter and by foundation grants.

Heart Attack Entrées with Side Orders of Stroke

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Wednesday

17Jun

Raw Food Revolution Diet--Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe

Jun 17, 2009

Cherie Soria--

A Delicious Cayenne-Spiced Chocolate Brownie and Almond Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich with Sweet Cherry Compote

Below are several recipes that can be used individually, or in concert. You can serve traditional, square-cut brownies for an after school treat; and the ice cream could be served alone or with the Cherry Compote as a simple, but delicious dessert. Here, we are serving all of them together for an over-the-top, you-are-worth-it special occasion dessert!

Cayenne-Spiced Chocolate Brownies
Serves 8

4 cups walnuts, soaked 8–12 hours, then dehydrated
1/2 cup pitted soft dates, chopped
1/2 cup dried figs, soaked 15 minutes, drained, and chopped
2 tablespoons coconut oil, warmed to liquid
1 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch solar-dried sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

1. Place the walnuts in a food processor and pulse until they reach the consistency of meal.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and continue processing until it is well mixed and sticky. The mixture should hold together when pressed into a ball. If oil begins to separate from the mixture, it is over processed. You may still use it, but it is not the desired effect.
4. Divide the mixture in half and press each half firmly into an 8- x 8-inch brownie pan lined with unbleached parchment paper. Cover and chill.
5. Cut each pan of brownies into 8 equal pieces, 4 inches x 2 inches.
May be stored in the refrigerator for 1 week or in the freezer for 1-2 months.

Almond Vanilla Ice Cream
Yield: 5 cups (serves 8)

2 cups almonds, soaked 6 to 8 hours, rinsed, and drained (see note)
2 cups purified water
1 1/2 cups cashews, soaked 4 hours, rinsed, and drained
1 cup agave nectar
2 1/4 teaspoons psyllium powder
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
pinch of solar-dried sea salt

1. Blend the almonds with the purified water in a high-powered blender to make a thick almond cream. Strain the mixture through a cloth mesh bag, and store the pulp for another use.
2. Return the strained milk to the blender, add the cashews and other remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth and creamy.
3. Spread the mixture firmly into two 8 x 8-inch brownie pans, each lined with unbleached parchment paper. Cover and freeze for at least 12 hours, or until firm.
4. Cut the frozen ice cream into 8 equal pieces, each one 4 inches x 2 inches.
May be stored in a sealed container in the freezer for up to 1-2 months.